Kiddie Quote of the Day {*New}

Annika "Mommy Im glad you're my bestest Mommy. If you werent, where would I be?"

We Went Camping!

Im not always that fond of leaving my comfy house and doing a tonne more work than usual just to sleep on the ground and eat with the bugs. But despite changing forecasts and Scott being hung up this weekend umpiring, the Girls and I joined Grammy for some camping.
Down near Grammy's home, my grandparents and a few aunts and uncles were camping, and we spent Saturday night there as well. We packed up a tonne of stuff and the Girls and I headed off Saturday morning at freaking near dawn, dragging bikes and a wet tent off to the campground.

We met Grammy at the campground rather than going straight to the campground, not great planning on my part LOL cause we ended up in Sweltering New Minas at high noon rather than at a nice cool camp site. We did a little shopping for some food and essentials before heading off to the camp site.

We set up the tents first, because mine was wet and once you get things settled it is far easier to actually have fun. My tent was really dry very fast, almost before we had Grammy's set up too...so we put some bags and stuff in it, and set out to check out the camp ground.

The kids thought all this tent setting was very exciting but were so hot by this time, they really wanted to swim.

Across the "street" were Nanny and Grampy P with their camper, and uncle Norman and Aunt Betty with their camper. They were playing Washers which the kids are fascinated with. Lots of games that family plays, I remember when we would go camping like this all over the place when We were the kids, they would play loads of games in the evenings, Lawn Darts was very popular. So was Croquet.

So into the pool the kids go! It was 30 C with Humidex by this time, and the pool looked so nice and cool...

They love to swim very much!

Annika loves to jump in and swim around!

She has a lot more freedom when we remember her life jacket.


There was a little kiddie pool where the kids could sit and float a little, it was very cute!


The camp ground has theme weekends, and the weekend the Carnival was in town. The kids got to buy tickets and go to the Carnival! LOL!

we walked down with Aunt Betty and Cousin Adrian. He's a very pleasant little fellow! :)

The cooking game involved throwing food into a pot ;)

Annika got her corn in. The games are designed to WIN after all..

They got some Balloon Animals to play with!

The Frisbees were meant to knock over the Pylons...

Annika I dont think had ever thrown a frisbee before....lol

The Ball in a Bucket game was really not too hard...
Both Girls got the ball in on the first throw :)

Back to the camp sites for dinner...it always tastes best cooked outside and eaten with the flies ;) and there were plenty of bees!

We all got together to eat, it is nice to have meals together and my grandparents do do it well, they have the most perfect set up ever!

Right after dinner the kids ran to catch the Hay Ride through the woods. They had so much fun on it! and I was thinking OMG I just put my kids on back of some Truck and send them off with dozens of strangers...but there was not room for me and I didnt want to go anyway...they DID have fun.

Then we went over to the Playground by the entrance! :) There was this extremely cool piece of equipment there that I just had to watch them playing on!
:)

They had a great time figuring out how to climb it!

Holly made it to the top, the little monkey!

Taylor wasnt quite as Monkey, she got hung up on one side :)

They rode this strange horse thing that only an adult managed to push, not so interesting that way!

Top of the slide!

They love the slide, it was a big old thing and they had to lift their feet

To slide all the way to the bottom!

I think the camp fire is still the part everyone looks forward to the most! :) I asked the kids and they all thought it was the best.

We all get chairs and gather around the fire, moving in and out as we get hot and cold! It was SO SO hot that night, no one needed sweaters or blankets or anything.


Little Adrian didnt like the fire very much, He cried. he might have been tired, hard to say :)

Grampy enjoying the fire :)

Soon after 11 we all went to bed. It was SO hot!

The next morning Taylor got up and started making noise at 630. She was sleeping with Grammy. I had Annika and Holly with me. we were comfy. All night we could hear the neightbor's air conditioner coming on and off and on and off. ANnoying.
The dogs were yappy and there were a tonne of dogs in that camp ground lol.
And Holly and Annika slept til 815. It was very nice.

Breakfast outside is always entertaining. we gave the kids yogurt and cereal then we broke out the stove to make Cappucino and boil eggs. And we got the stovetop toaster, and made some toast while the kids were at the playground.

Fascinating.

This is the stereo, I was tired of listening to neighbors and crickets. The Valley radio Station leaves something to be desired!

Packing up the Camp Site...started very early.

Across the road, Nanny with l'il Adrian.

I took the kids over for one more swim, they were hot and it looked good. They were cranky and whiney cause we didnt go on the Bouncy Mountain, it was just too much IMO.

But they had a nice swim before we had to cram into the car and go. It was again, HOT. And Humid.


Sometime around the packing up, Grammy got sick and spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon either in the bathrooms or under this tree where there was a speck of shade. It was not pretty. I diagnosed the FLU based on having it all the next day. Thanks!

THANKFULLY Uncle Eric, and Nanny and Grampy helped me pack up the 2 tents and all the gear. Pity Grammy for having to unpack that crammed car tho :(:(:( I was tucking stuff into spaces that they likely didnt fit into, she packs enough for 18 people to camp for 14 nights....yes it came in handy when I wanted cooler clothing, but MAN it was hard to pack back into the car again.


The CRV all packed up and waiting to be driven away :)
Trent and Vicky came to get Grammy and take her home, while Nanny P fed the Girls and I. She had the nicest little set up in her Food tent, and she took orders from all the kids on the sandwich they wanted and offered desserts and drinks...it was a nice relief after getting those cars packed up. Nanny always feeds us particularly well...where I would be happy with a slice of bread and peanut butter, she doesnt let anyone go hungry. Nanny's are Great :)


After we ate and said goodbye, we went out to Grammy's to check on her and unpack some of the cold stuff from her car. She was feeling better out of the hot sun and with a little medication, and she was getting up and around for a bit.

the kids had a swim in her pool while I was doing a few things for her.



They prefer to use the ladder as a jumping board. :)


Playing Fishy in the Ocean and Annika had to Swim Free.
And she did swim free.


Taylor was tossing Annika around in the water. She was happy about that.

We left soon and headed for home, where Scott was at the Yuills waiting for a dinner together. we went straight there and played in the barn before making and eating supper.
It was a super long day.

Sports Winding Down

For another summer season. I am always sorry to see the season end, just when the playing is getting good, only to have to start all over again next year. Taylor is LOVING her baseball right now but they are done and out of the playoffs. Annika is actually PLAYING soccer now, as opposed to watching while crying, and that's a huge accomplishment. And Holly's soccer team is playing like a team now, and doing really well. Ive seen huge improvements likely despite my bad coaching, and love watching them play!

So last week was Annika's last week for soccer. We did find out this week that her leaque will be taking part in the end of year Tournament in September, which we didnt think they would be. So there is one day left.
For their last day, Annika's team had Fun night where the parents played against the kids. Against! hahahahah! it was fun and I didnt plan to play so I was not properly attired. lol

See Annika in there Challenging me. Grrr. Im all like Bring It On, little person.

Here Yelling Im Open, Pass it to me! This is not only something I have been working on getting MY team to do (a few are getting it) But remember it's parents against the kids...and they arent being faked out. They did NOT pass to me.

Annika attacked me and attempted to tackle me to the ground. Luckily I saw it coming, and headed it off by spinning her in circles til she was dizzy.

Friends with her Soccer Ball now. :)


The Soccer POSE.

And sort of a team photo. iT was hard enough to get those little kids to stand together let alone stand nice and pose. So that was about it. Battery dead now. lol

Taylor's Mosquito baseball team entered Playoffs this week. They had a rough season, not playing together so well, not batting too well, and losing a lot of games, some to Forfeit because not enough players came to the game. Not a lot of dedication in some of those players.
Anyway the last couple of weeks they have been playing well, winning a lot of games, and doing much better. Taylor got less scared of the ball, and started to hit it. And they were in a good place coming into the playoffs.
They won their first game on Monday night. Tuesday night they lost but it was due to pitching as Scott was saving his best pitchers for the Third game. Which I got to go to! :) I missed a lot of games for taking the other 2 to their soccer nights.

Taylor is in the outfield playing...actually I'm not sure what position she was playing at that point. Rover? lol NOt sure but she's in the outfield. Might be left field.

They started this game with a lead of 3-0. It looked good, they were playing well. BUMMER about the Umpire, he is the worst I have ever seen, legendary even with his poor calls. I was so so mad, that's the reason I need to stay away from Ball Games...I was SOOOO mad at those calls he was making. It really confuses the kids and takes the wind out of their sails when they strike out, never swinging, because they are either trying to avoid getting hit or could never reach the ball, with a strike zone of about 16 feet. Most kids are not tall enough to reach those "strikes" anyway he SUCKED and we can leave it at that. No doubt about how it affects the outcome of a game tho.

ok so down by a run, Taylor comes to bat. Now the highlight of the game, Taylor got an awesome hit! Not just a hit....but she got a DOUBLE! So She's there on second base poised for third! :):) She's been on base before but she usually walked there. This was her first really honest to goodness hit onto base. :D:D:D
Of course I was so busy yelling and cheering I didnt get a photo of her Running into HOME to score the tying run! But she totally DID! her team came out to High Five her and it was all and awesome time!

Didnt last forever tho, as the other team scored at the bottom of the 6th to win the game. It's sad to see the season end but it did end on a good note when the team was playing well together and Taylor had that hit! She was sad to stop playing now, finally getting into the game. I dont know if she will play next year.

The team and coaches pull it together for a photo at the end. They will have some sort of a Banquet but Ive no idea when or where or what.

and Last Night Holly's soccer season ended, but for the Tournament in September. their team has been doing great most of the season and has won more games than lost, played really well together the past few weeks, and basically had a great season with very little troubles.
Holly really LOVES soccer. and she's such a little cracker out there, getting in the middle of things and taking the ball away from kids way bigger than she is. She's always kind of playing a level ahead, with a birthday late in the year she is bumped up to the next level fast, spending only one year at Under 6, now this year playing Under 8 with kids who are already 8 years old, and much bigger. Didnt seem to phase her at all, I just love watching her play! She also loves to play Goalie, and doesnt do too badly at it either! :)

While off a shift, waiting for something to happen.

Making a big save! She made a lot of those, and also let a couple in. The goalies were mostly playing too far out of the net, and it improved when I stood near and reminded them to get back into the net.

Kicking the ball back out into play. We're working on big kicks or kicks to teammates Lol but a few times they would get booted right back at the goalie who is too far out of the net to actually do anything about it!


Holly scored a good goal in this game, the first for our team in that game. :) One of the other boys who had not scored all year also scored. IN the past couple of games I saw a lot of first goals as the kids learned the positions and started to make the most of them, passing the ball around and going to the net. YES a couple of them DID learn the concept of GO TO THE NET, which I yelled so much they must have started to hear it in their dreams GO TO THE NET PLEASSSSSE go to the NETTTTT! lol. I was glad to learn last night that our team was not the only one to not always get the concept. But there was much improvement and I was glad to see lots of passes and lots of calling out to teammates "I'm open" or Pass here or something to help out when caught in tunnel vision. There was still lots of "sheep following" going on, with one person on the ball and the rest trailing behind but there were a few shining moments when one of them would GO to the net and get a goal, and the light came on and they got it. :):):)


The half Time meeting. There's not really a tonne to be able to tell them at this point lol other than keep your butts in the net and stop watching the ball go by. There was a lot of "watching" going on! LOL

Holly playing Forward here. She's not a bad forward, she really goes after the ball and doesnt let it get too far away....still not getting the concept of Go to the NEt but it will come next year :):):):):)

Ya just gotta understand, how stinking SMALL She looks out there! It's almost funny, the size of her but she's always in the middle of the action, scooting on for the ball and scooting back out again!

So we won this game by one goal, partly to good play, excellent goaltending, and their team having no one to change shifts with so I am thinking they were getting tired towards the end although you couldnt really tell, they were really playing their hearts out. It was a great note to end on, and we cant wait til the tournament in a couple of weeks! :)

The team, who were thankfully all there last night.!




and I just have to add this silly photo of Holly, put on her roller blades and climbed onto her bike to see if more wheels helps!